There are few studies on nanoplastic that propose quantification of the amount ingested combined with evaluation of the toxic effects on aquatic organisms. We propose 2 methods to quantify the amount of polystyrene nanoplastic (PSNP) ingested by Daphnia magna: fluorescence intensity, where a fluorescent monomer (F) is added to the PSNP and quantified through fluorescence light microscopy, and total aluminum quantification, where PSNP is synthesized with Al2O3 metal‐core nanoparticles and used for quantification of the nanoplastic ingested by the organism Daphnia magna using inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry. In addition, the PSNP was functionalized with palmitic acid to simulate the environmental conditions leading to biological and chemical transformations. Acute and chronic toxicity tests were performed with fluorescent PSNP (PSNP/F) and palmitic acid‐functionalized PSNP/F (PSNP/F‐PA). The ingestion quantified was higher by factors of 2.8 and 3.0 for PSNP/F‐PA and 1.9 and 1.7 for PSNP/F applying the fluorescence intensity and total Al quantifying methods, respectively, when compared to PSNP. These results are consistent with the data obtained in the toxicity tests, which showed an approximately 3 times increase in the adverse effect of PSNP/F‐PA on the mobility and reproduction of the organisms. Thus, the strong inhibition of D. magna reproduction caused by PSNP/F‐PA in the chronic toxicity tests could be associated with a greater amount of this nanoplastic being ingested by the organisms. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;38:2101–2110. © 2019 SETAC.

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ARTEMISININ AND DERIVATIVES: DISCOVERY, SYNTHETIC STRATEGIES, AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION. Artemisinin, a natural sesquiterpene isolated from the Artemisia annua L. plant, represents a remarkable achievement in the treatment against malaria. Since its discovery in the 1970’s, researchers readily started synthesizing this complex natural product containing an unusual endoperoxide fragment. Despite various total syntheses reported, only in the last decade the production jumped from extraction/bench scale to industrial manufacturing. In this sense, the objective of this contribution is to highlight the discovery, the most representative works towards the synthesis of artemisinin and its main derivatives used worldwide against malaria, and the path to the industrial production of these compounds.